Press Conference: Mourinho on luck, criticism and dealing with it

September 23, 2016

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho once against sat with the media at the AON Training Complex ahead of the Premier League clash with Leicester City at Old Trafford. United beat Northampton Town in the EFL Cup 3-1 on Wednesday evening, ending their three-match losing streak which will see the squad head into this weekend’s Premier League clash with renewed confidence. United will need to make sure they beat the champions, though, or the negativity will soon return as that is what the media love to do. Positivity around United does not seem to be reported in the same way the negativity is reported, which is poor journalism in my opinion. United have two matches before the end of September, heading into a busy October where they will face six matches against Stoke City, Liverpool, Fenerbahce, Chelsea, Manchester City, and Burnley. Here are the main points from the press conference.

Jose Mourinho confirmed that Anthony Martial will be out of the match against Leicester City on Saturday:

“Martial is not available, he is out because of a contusion in the calf and not a concussion. You know when that happened.”

Mourinho on the fallout from the worst week of his management career at Manchester United:

“History says that not many teams in Premier League history did that. One was Manchester United, another one was some team managed by the worst manager in the history of football.

“The Einsteins can’t coach, be on the bench, win matches. They can speak, write + criticise work of others people.

“But I am a good man A man of goodwill. I do lots of charity work. I am helping so many people. Why not also help feed the Einsteins.”

Mourinho on Leicester City:

“They won the league because they were very good and they are still very good. I think they are a very easy team to analyse because their defensive process and attacking organisation are clear, but it is very difficult to cope with it. Easy to understand but difficult to play against.”

Mourinho on Manchester United’s title ambitions:

“I always said since day one that my title ambitions were motivational factors, I don’t believe you can be at this club and say different. Many teams have years of stability through years with the same manager or years with same players or a lot of investment. We know already who will be the champion in Germany, France, Scotland, in Spain it is one of two. In England every team plays to win every game, any team can win any game.

“The first game is the same as the one that mathematically decides everything. I’ve always said since day one that my title ambitions are a motivational factor, a way of living. I don’t understand to be in this club and give a different message but I knew and I admitted immediately that was a very risky approach.”

Mourinho on luck and being lucky, but not being upset:

“I am not upset with anything, I am such a lucky guy that I can’t be upset with anything. The only thing that upsets me is the criticism to my players, my players are my players, I should protect them. I can’t protect my players from you [the media], it is a feeling of frustration. With the Einsteins is fine, they need money. I am a good man, I am a man of good will, I do a lot of charity so why not feed the Einsteins as well.”

Mourinho on Wayne Rooney’s form:

“Wayne Rooney form is Manchester United form, we are a team, we are not Wayne Rooney.”

Mourinho on Manchester United’s start to the season, raising expectations and not being consistent:

“We like to say a very good start to the season was better than we could expect, we were guilty to raise expectations of people. We were punished by the fact we only played well for moments, in football you have to be consistent during 90 minutes.”

Mourinho on players making individual mistakes, getting criticism and dealing with it:

“It’s a learning process, you make a mistake, especially individual mistakes then you have to learn. A team that works to a game plan during the week, you try to identify agreements between us and then individual mistake punishes you. Criticism is part of the process, it helps them learn how to deal with criticism from you.”

Manchester United had a bad week last week and the media and armies of fans were moaning about it. Defeats are not great, especially when they come in threes or more, but they are something that you have to be able to deal with. The media will always jump down the throats of United when they lose in the fashion they had done during that week, that gives them the inspiration to poke fun at the club, say how they think it should be and feel good about themselves. It also gives opposition fans something to read that will thrill them, as at the end of the day the media seem to spend so much time talking about United, their teams are seldom spoken about in the same or similar vein. The United fans who went into meltdown and decided to not read anything about their club, or speak about them during the defeats are the most pathetic of the bunch, though. To support Manchester United, you need to be able to accept the defeats in order to support them when they are winning, but there seems to be a whole continent of fans who only seem to support the team when they are winning, and that is pathetic.

United will always be a well-followed football team. One which attracts fans from all over the world. Some will bother to look back over the club’s history, others will not care about anything other than winning, then when the club decline, like they have over the past three years, they go off and find another club, one which suits their glory supporting attitude, before doing the same again when that team declines. That seems to be the new breed of football fans, which again is pathetic. I like football, I watch many teams play, but I only support one – Manchester United. Jose Mourinho, whether people wanted him or not, is now the manager of the club. Many wanted Louis van Gaal to be sacked last Christmas with Mourinho taking the helm then, some now want Mourinho sacked because of a three-match streak of defeats. Probably the same people who wanted Mourinho in the first place and said he would be the saviour of the club. That behaviour is laughable. The fickle nature of football fans seems to ring true right now. They sing when they are winning, sulk and hide when they are not. Support is a word that covers positive and negative. Manchester United are a club which needs to be supported when they are winning and when they are not. If you are not prepared to do that, you are not exactly a supporter.